Dec. 9, 2010
Box Score
OREM, Utah - Utah Valley's women's basketball team held their own early in the game against cross-town rival Brigham Young University on Thursday night, but 19 turnovers cost the Wolverines (1-7), who lost the game 74-47.
"We are not a team that has too much room for error," said UVU head coach Cathy Nixon. "BYU is a very good team with depth and experience, they have exceptional players at multiple positions. But, I'm really proud of what we did tonight, our goal each game is to compete."
The Wolverines had a tough time breaking the BYU full-court press at the beginning of the game. After figuring it out, they found themselves with a 5-4 lead four minutes into the game. The Cougars jumped out in front over the next few minutes, but freshman Whitney Jenkins brought UVU back to a 17-16 lead on a running layup with 9:47 left to play in the first half.
That would be the last lead that the Wolverines would see in the game. BYU went on a 12-0 run in two and a half minutes beginning with back-to-back threes. UVU only managed two points in the final 10 minutes of the half and the Cougars had extended their lead to 36-19 by halftime.
The Wolverines shot nearly as well as BYU in the first half, but could not overcome 11 turnovers. Jenkins led UVU's first half offense tallying eight points on four of five shooting from the field.
Starting out on a quick 6-1 run in the beginning of the second half, the Wolverines showed that they were ready to continue competing. Sophomore Kaycee Mansfield got a layup off an assist by freshman Kali Roche to cut the lead to 37-25 with 18 minutes left in the contest.
The Cougars would use three 3-point baskets during a 19-4 run to extend their lead to 56-29. Sophomore Sammie Jensen was able to cut into the BYU momentum on a 3-pointer of her own with 11:30 showing on the clock to shorten the lead to 56-32.
UVU couldn't get any closer the rest of the way as BYU held on to win it 74-47.
"I think we competed for about 30 minutes of the game," added Nixon. "We've had games that we have been competing a lot less than that. We stood toe-to-toe to them for the first 10 minutes of the game."
Jensen led the Wolverines with a double-double on 10 points and 10 rebounds. She also had a team-high four assists in the loss. Freshman Kim Bell contributed 10 points as well, all of them coming in the second half.
Senior Mindy Bonham led the Cougars as she finished with a game-high 19 points and seven assists. Fellow BYU junior Kristen Riley also tallied double figures with 10 points as well as seven boards.
The game attendance of 1,983 was a new UVU women's basketball all-time record at the UCCU Center.
Before the game began, former UVU women's basketball players were recognized as they unveiled eight banners to honor the accomplishments of past women's basketball teams dating back to the junior college days.
The Wolverines will finish out the week by traveling to Cedar City to take on another in-state rival, Southern Utah. The game will be played on Saturday, Dec. 11 at 5:00 p.m. MT.
"Because we've played Southern Utah already hopefully there will be a comfort level for some of our new kids because it's the first repeat opponent that we've had," Nixon said.
